Touhou A Birthday
by Shadow1176
Summary: A story about a birthday, dedicated to a good friend of mine.


A/N: As you might know from the description, this is a story created as a birthday present to a friend of mine. Madam Terra, this one is for you.

In the skies of Gensokyo, a fairy flew on, flapping her wings as she flew.

"It's Spring!"

With that announcement, the land responded in kind.

Flowers of all sorts sprouted from their roots buried deep underground, blossoming almost instantly as the call of Spring came. Any remainder of winter melted away, to be sunk back into the earth till the next year, as the trees flourished with life once more.

Under the calls of joy and flower styled danmaku, a certain witch flew on towards the Hakurei Shrine.

Dressed in her customary witch's outfit, complete with massive black hat and apron, was the Ordinary Magician, Marisa Kirisame.

Flying atop her trademark broom, Marisa let out a mighty yawn, saying, "It's good to be finished with my experiments, it's been a while since I've been outside. Those magic experiments kept me inside for weeks, and I'm exhausted. Might as well head over to Reimu's place, because I could really use a good cup of tea now..."

Touching down in front of the shrine's toril, Marisa called out, "Yohoo, anybody home?"

Silence answered her ominously, as Marisa calling out while walking forward, growing ever more worried by the second as the silence continued.

"Reimu! Reimu, where are-"

A quick glance to the donation box showed a hastily scribbled note, where inscribed upon it were the words, "_I've kidnapped your friend, the Shrine Maiden. If you wish to ever see her again, solve my riddle." _A flip of the paper revealed additional words, "_The Historia Devourer will assist you. Good luck, Ordinary Magician."_

Her fist crumpled the paper as Marisa's eyes blazed with fury, as under her breath she growled, "Nobody kidnaps a friend of mine and gets away with it!"

Rocketing off into the skies with frightening speed, on the desolate scene of the Hakurei Shrine, a purple gap, filled with eyes of crimson appeared, as a voice emanated from within, "She fell for the bait. Now then, onwards with the plan..."

* * *

The Human Village had experienced a time of peace for a while, ever since the most recent Incident with an Amanojaku running loose, a veritable army going after her in an attempt to capture her. Since then, no other Incidents had occurred, and she was glad for it, or so thought the woman at the top of the school building in the village center.

Known as Keine Kamishirasawa, the half human half hakutaku sighed in content at the recent peace, allowing her to continue her daily routine of teaching the little ones about history.

And as she took a sip of her tea, Keine thought about nothing in the world could possibly interrupt her peace of mind.

Of course, that peace was broken when Marisa made a crash landing outside her door, screaming about something indecipherable.

Her ears ringing from the auditory assault, Keine silenced Marisa with a sharp scolding, "Marisa! What on earth has you so worked up? Calm down and tell me what's wrong."

After taking a few deep breaths, Marisa stood up straight and said, "Reimu's missing, and my only lead is you. Can you help me?"

A look of shock appeared on Keine's face, as she asked, "Reimu's missing? Well, I'm afraid that I can't help you, I haven't been out recently. Although, Mokou might be able to help you, but the last time that I saw her, she was heading to the Misty Lake."

Already jumping out the door, Marisa shouted behind her as her broom took off, "Thanks for the help!"

As Keine waved her off, she turned back and smiled widely, eagerly waiting in anticipation at her face when she found what happened...

* * *

As she flew over the clear, crisp waters of the Misty lake, a gentle breeze flowing over her. Even in her haste to figure out what had happened to Reimu, Marisa couldn't help but observe the surrounding area, both in admiration for its beauty and to remain on constant alert by maintaining spacial awareness.

As she skimmed her fingers over the cool surface of the water, a small winged figure appeared from beneath the surface, its form exploding out as they flew out from the water.

"I'm the strongest!"

So said Cirno, the Ice Fairy of the Misty Lake and its leader.

"Not so fast Cirno! You may be the strongest, but I'm the darkest!"

Accompanying her was another figure known as Rumia, the Youkai of Darkness, who zipped by in the air, her own sphere of darkness surrounding her the duo raced.

Their joyous laughter served to lighten her own mood, as Marisa sped on, heading towards a small island with an igloo nearby, having spotted a small sitting figure, with long, flowing white hair.

With a tap of her soles on the icy surface, as the entire island had been constructed of ice, Marisa called out to the figure with, "Hey Mokou! I need your help!"

With that, the figure turned around, a pipe still blowing smoke rings stuck inside their mouth with a fishing rod stuck in the ice as they said, "What's up?"

She was known as Fujiwara no Mokou, the Immortal Phoenix and the secondary Human Village bodyguard.

With urgency in her tone, Marisa spoke quickly, "Reimu's gone missing, and Keine said that you might know where she is."

Another smoke ring puffed out as Mokou said, "Yeah, I saw her a while back somewhere by the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Speaking of, the fairies around here are really nice, you know? Cirno even let me sit here in the middle next to her house and fish here."

Marisa was already running to the edge, and with a short hop leaped onto her broom, balancing perfectly as she took off with a shout, "Thanks!"

As Mokou watched her retreating figure, she let out a chuckle, smiling to herself at how well the plan had been going.

* * *

The looming presence of the SDM made itself known in spades, fear rolling off of it in droves. With a massive clock tower and plenty of battlements, it seemed akin to a scarlet castle, complete with a massive, two story high wall surrounding it, reinforced by magic and high quality steel. All around, a contingent of fairy guards, armed with a variety of melee weaponry and light armor patrolled the perimeter, ensuring that there were no intruders.

In front of the main gate was the primary guard, Hong Meiling, one of the greatest Martial Artist Youkai to have ever lived.

With a short drop from her broom and a roll to break her fall, Marisa sprung up saying, "Meiling, have you seen Reimu? Shes gone missing, and Mokou said she was around here."

Meiling scratched her head and responded, "Erm, I only saw her a little while back, she was accompanied by someone in a weird dress, but I don't know who it was. They had a cloak on the entire time, so I couldn't tell who it was. It looked like they were talking about flowers, so maybe the Garden of the Sun?"

Her broom which had remained flying dropped down suddenly, as Marisa grabbed onto it with a hand, bringing herself up as she yelled, "Thanks Meiling, and look out behind you!"

Meiling waved back and wondered aloud, "Someone behind- ehhhhh?!"

A veritable wave of knives filled her eyesight, each gleaming with an edge only acquired from careful care and love.

"Oh dear..."

* * *

The Garden of the Sun.

Fields upon fields of sunflowers dotted the entire landscape, their yellow hues creating an image of pure serenity against the backdrop of clear blue.

A perfect sight for nature enthusiasts... if only the owner of the field took kindly to others.

Strolling through the fields with a spring in her step, was the Slower master of the Four Seasons, Yuuka Kazami.

Her moss green hair blew in the gentle wind, her pristine white parasol shielding her figure from the bright sun. A smile adorned her lips, happiness radiating from the woman as she enjoyed her stroll through the flower fields.

A nearby flower moved on its own accord, nudging against her arm as she said, "Hm? What is it little one?"

From the flower's figure came a small voice, "_Yuuka, Marisa is asking for your presence. May she pass?"_

Stroking the flower softly, she responded, "Yes Elly, that will be fine. I'll meet her at my house."

"Yes Ma'am."

An explosive force of magic resonated throughout the field, throwing the flowers into a frenzied excitement at the burst of power, Yuuka herself flying up while saying, "I suppose I'll meet her mid air then."

With her parasol open, Yuuka floated up, moving into position to intercept the incoming missile that was Marisa, who was rocketing towards the house at a frightening speed.

Once the two could see the other clearly, Marisa slowed down to a halt while Yuuka continued smiling.

Marisa shouted, "Hey Yuuka! Do you know where Reimu's gone?"

With a tilt to her tone, Yuuka responded, "I believe I saw her near the Forest of Magic. But before you go, why not play a bit with me?"

Several sunflowers pointed towards Marisa who had already been preparing to leave, as Yuuka whispered an incantation into her parasol, sunlight entering the sunflowers.

Marisa's eyes widened in panic as she realized just what was about to happen, acting quickly to deploy several acceleration magic spells as she flew away, even as the sunflowers opened fire, massive beams of concentrated sunlight making their way towards her location.

Twisting and rolling around in the air, Marisa attempted to dodge them, several of them barely grazing her as she fled the scene quick as she could.

Once she left, Yuuka allowed the flowers to stop before giggling as she said, "My part's done, so I should go get ready."

* * *

Over the darkness of the Forest of Magic with its massive trees and wide varieties of plants growing underneath, Marisa arrived at her home, only to find nobody there.

She called out, "Reimu!"

No response, but a cursory glance revealed a piece of paper that had been stuck to her door. Upon it was a letter.

"_Go to the first place of your chase, and you may find your objective."_

It was written in the same as the first letter, as Marisa flew off, heading towards the Hakurei Shrine with all due haste.

"_Please don't anything happen, please don't let anything happen..."_

As Marisa once more touched down at the Hakurei Shrine, she could see an assortment of cakes set upon tables as well as a food stand, but no people in sight.

Walking into the middle, Marisa couldn't help but tense up, until-

"SURPRISE!"

The collective shout came from all around, as dozens of people jumped out from variou hiding area, all of them with smiles on their faces and laughter being had.

And in the center of it, Reimu stood, with the widest grin of all, who said, "Happy Birthday Marisa."

Marisa's jaw had malfunctioned, no words coming out as everybody began to mingle and talk with one another, even as Reimu walked up and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

Marisa stuttered, "I-but you-kidnap-"

Waving her hand with a laugh, Reimu responded, "Oh that? That was just a ploy to get you away from the shrine for a bit so that we could set up. So come on, enjoy your birthday!"

As Marisa was led to her cake in the center table, she couldn't help but marvel at the set up, and the interactions nearby.

One of the smaller cakes was being consumed entirely by Yuyuko, Youmu watching on in shock, even as Suika's face was pushed into the other by a grinning Yuuka. Team Nine played around, Chen joining them as the Scarlet Devil Mansion residents conversed and laughed, while Mokou and Keine were running the food stand and serving various foodstuffs.

Aya and Hatate recorded the event, observing both the party and the duel that had begun on the shrine's roof, Yukari and Mima both battling against one another in a friendly bout. Ruukoto wandered about, transferring a bucket of chicken over to the tables with a smile.

Grabbing something to drink, Reimu and Marisa greeted Alice over by the shrine steps, all of them laughing and joyful, as Marisa looked out over Gensokyo, and said,

"Thanks, everybody."


End file.
